The numbers are startling: Just 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 have jobs, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center. That's the lowest employment rate for this age group since the government began keeping track in 1948 (62 percent had jobs in 2007).
So in spite of college credits (and debt), impressive internships and a desire to work, too many kids are living in their parents' basements—or, in worst-case scenarios, on the streets.
IIABA's Project InVEST is mostly associated with professional mentoring at the high school or college levels. But recently, InVEST has been getting creative, reaching out to college vocational ed programs and, in one very creative instance, with a national shelter program for throwaway kids.
Covenant House provides food, shelter, immediate crisis care and essential services to homeless, throwaway and runaway kids in 21 cities. Last fall, InVEST launched a pilot program at the New York Covenant House. Students were offered 2 hours of insurance instruction to include a 12-week introductory overview of insurance, consistent with the materials the InVEST program offers.
But the learning actually took place on both sides. Michael Leinenbach, president of the New York CPCU chapter who's spearheading the program and teaching the classes, went in expecting students who would struggle with the basic concepts of business. Instead, he got a group of 14 "bright, motivated" kids, aged 16 to 19, who "are future CPCUs, as far as I'm concerned."
But after a few classes, attendance dwindled to two. Leinenbach could have simply assumed that the kids were lazy, didn't get it, or thought insurance was boring. Instead, he discovered that although the kids appreciated the knowledge, they needed a paying job right away, because that would make the difference between shelter or going back to the streets. These are kids who don't have the luxury of living in their parents' basements.
Leinenbach is now tweaking the program and looking for "a true-blue group of compassionate employers" to offer kids graduating from the 12-week program paid internships. Another alternative is to offer them scholarships through the New York CPCU chapter, he said. If you're interested in the project, contact Diane Mattis at InVEST, Diane.Mattis@iiaba.net.
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